Long working hours and overweight and obesity in working adults

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have identified a link between gender and the various risk factors associated with obesity. We examined obesity risk factors in working adults to identify the effects of differences in body mass index (BMI) and percentage body fat (PBF) between women and men. METHODS: A total of 1,120 adults agreed to participate in the study. Data from 711 participants, including 411 women and 300 men, were analyzed. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the effects of risk factors on obesity and being overweight. In addition, the least-squares (LS) means of both BMI and PBF were estimated by analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in a generalized linear model.  RESULTS: Increases in BMI and PBF were significantly related to an age > 50 years and long working hours in women after compensating for confounding factors. Using the PBF criterion, the odds ratio (OR) of being overweight or obese in women > 50 years of age who worked for > 9 h a day was 3.9 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05–11.00). For BMI, women who were > 50 years of age and worked for > 9 h a day were 3.82 times (95% CI, 1.31–11.14) more likely to be overweight or obese than those who were 50 years of age and long working hours in women. Further studies are needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of this relationship and its potential implications for the prevention and management of excess weight and obesity.

Effect of maternal job strain during pregnancy on infant neurodevelopment by gender at 6 and 12 months: Mothers and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study

OBJECTIVES: Limited evidence is available regarding the association between prenatal job strain and infant neurodevelopment. Most studies used stress indicators other than job strain to explain the relationship between prenatal maternal stress and child development. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between maternal job strain during pregnancy and neurodevelopment in infancy. METHODS: Mothers and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study, an on-going prospective birth cohort study, has been conducted in South Korea since 2006. Job strain during pregnancy was measured using Korean version of Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ). Infant neurodevelopment was assessed using Korean Bayley Scale of Infant Development II (K-BSID-II) at 6 and 12 months of age. A total of 343 mother-child pairs that completed JCQ and K-BSID-II more than once were included. Mental Developmental Index (MDI) and Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI) defined in the K-BSID-II were used as outcome variables. RESULTS: Compared to infants from mothers with low job strain, significant (p < 0.05) decreases in PDI were found in infants from mothers with active and passive job at 6 months of age. After stratification by infant sex, boys in the high strain group had a lower MDI score than boys in the low job strain group at 12 months. On the other hand, girls in the high strain and active groups had higher MDI scores than girls in the low job strain group at 12 months. PDI at 12 months also showed different results by sex. Boys in the high strain and passive job groups had lower PDI scores than boys in the low job strain group. However, such difference was not observed in girls. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that prenatal job strain affects infant neurodevelopment in a gender-dependent manner.

Sensitization rates to inhalant allergens in children and adolescents of Incheon and Asan area and the relationship between polysensitization and prevalence of allergic diseases

PURPOSE: Sensitization to allergens is considered as major mechanism of allergy and related to the development of allergic diseases. The objective of this study was to evaluate overall sensitization rates of inhalant allergens and the relationship between polysensitization and prevalence of allergic diseases in children and adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional pilot study of 122 elementary school students, 114 middle school students, and 115 high school students from Incheon and Asan was conducted by using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISSAC) questionnaire. The skin prick tests were performed with 14 common inhalant allergens on 339 students. RESULTS: The inhalant allergen that has a significantly different sensitization rate according to age was Dermatophagoides farinae. And the inhalant allergen that has significantly different sensitization rate according to region was Japanese hop. In addition, girls have higher sensitization rate to any mold allergens than boys. In case of having sensitization more than two allergens, the risks of diagnosis of asthma and allergic rhinitis on questionnaire were increased. Asthma is related to sensitization of dog or cat and allergic rhinitis is related to sensitization of house dust mites. However, atopic dermatitis is not related to sensitization of any inhalant allergens. CONCLUSION: The sensitization rates of inhalant allergens may differ among age, gender, and region in children and adolescents of Incheon and Asan area. The polysensitized children and adolescents with inhalant allergens showed higher prevalences of allergic diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis on questionnaire than monosensitized group.

BTEX Exposure and its Health Effects in Pregnant Women Following the Hebei Spirit Oil Spill / 예방의학회지

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the health effects of exposure to BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, m,p-Xylene, o-Xylene) in the Taean area after the Hebei Spirit oil spill. METHODS: We used a questionnaire survey to look for health effects among 80 pregnant women 2 to 3 months following the Hebei Spirit oil spill. Their BTEX exposures were estimated using the CALPUFF method. We then used a multiple logistic regression analysis to evaluate the effects of BTEX exposure on the women's health effets. RESULTS: Pregnant women who lived near the accident site reported more symptoms of eye irritation and headache than those who lived farther from the site. There was a trend of decreasing symptoms with an increase in distance from the spill site. Pregnant women exposed to higher ambient cumulative levels of Xylene were significantly more likely to report symptoms of the skin (OR 8.01 95% CI=1.74-36.76) in the first day after the accident and significantly more likely to report abdominal pain (OR 3.86 95% CI=1.02-14.59 for Ethylbenzene, OR 6.70 95% CI=1.82-24.62 for Xylene) during the 1st through 4th days following the accident. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that exposure to BTEX from an oil spill is correlated with an increased risk of health effects among pregnant women. This implies the need to take proper measures, including the development of a national policy for environmental health emergencies and a plan for studying the short- and long-term chronic health effects associated with such spills.

The Total Serum Homocysteine and Folate by C677T Methylene-tetrahydrofolate Reductase Mutation in Korean Preeclamptic Pregnant Women / 대한산부인과학회잡지

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the C677T Methylene-TetraHydroFolate Reductase (MTHFR) polymorphism affects the total maternal serum homocysteine and folate concentration in preeclamptic pregnant women. METHODS: Patients admitted to the hospital for the delivery during 2000-2002. 126 controls without the pregnancy complications and 34 patients with severe preeclampsia were enrolled. The serum homocysteine analysis was conducted using the high performance liquid chromatography methods. The serum folate and vitamin B12 concentration were determined using a radioimmunoassay kit. The C677T MTHFR gene mutation was examined by the polymerase chain reaction of the genomic DNA fragments. RESULTS: The total maternal serum homocysteine concentration and the serum vitamin B12 concentration were not significantly different between controls and the preeclampsia patients (p=0.44 for homocysteine, p=0.06 for vitamin B12). However, the maternal serum folate concentration was significantly higher in the preeclampsia patients than in controls (27.00 +/- 9.54 nmol/L versus 18.03 +/- 12.97 nmol/L, respectively, p=0.01). The total maternal serum homocysteine concentration, the serum folate concentration, and serum vitamin B12 in the C677T MTHFR CC type and TT type were not significantly different (p=0.21 for homocysteine, p=0.22 for folate, p=0.14 for vitamin B12). CONCLUSION: The C677T MTHFR mutation does not significantly affect the maternal homocysteine and folate concentration in both the controls without pregnancy complication and the preeclampsia patients.

A Trial for Association between Oxidative Stress in Midterm Pregnancy and Postnatal Growth during the First Year of Life / 한국역학회지

OBJECTIVES: We aims to construct Infant Growth Cohort for evaluating whether oxidative stress in midterm pregnancy has an adverse effect on postnatal growth. METHODS AND MATERIALS: From September 2001 to April 2004, we constructed an Ewha Infant Growth Cohort connected with the Ewha Pregnant Women Cohort. We excluded mother-and-child pairs in which the mother had experienced hypertension or diabetes during pregnancy and had multiple births for this study, which gave us 233 mother-and-child pairs for analysis. We measured maternal serum homocysteine and urinary 8-hydroxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and malondialdehyde (MDA) at 24~28 weeks of pregnancy, and infant weights at birth and at 6 and 12 months postnatally. We applied repeated measures ANOVA with PROC MIXED to assess the significance of differences. RESULTS: We followed 64 and 85 infants at 6 and 12 months respectively. The mean body weights were 3146.4 g at birth, 8229.7 g at 6 months, and 1006.47 g at 12 months. The mean birth weight of infants was lower in mothers with higher homocysteine levels (third and fourth quartiles), but body weights from the first- and fourth-quartile groups of maternal homocysteine levels were lower than the others even though it was not statistically significant. Body weights at birth and at 6 months in third- and fourth-quartile groups of 8-OHdG levels were lower than the others. The body weights in the fourth quartile MDA group were significantly lower than the others at all time points. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal oxidative stress in midterm pregnancy may cause postnatal growth retardation. But, there were high rate of follow up loss and various measurement errors. Therefore, we need to have efforts for compete follow up and valid and reliable measurements.

Maternal Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) and Pregnancy Outcome (low birth weight or preterm baby) in Prospective Cohort Study / 예방의학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to examine the relationship between maternal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and pregnancy outcomes (low birth weight or preterm baby) in a prospective cohort study. METHODS: We made a pregnant women's cohort, and followed the pregnancy outcomes, between May 1st 2001 and August 31st 2002. We surveyed 2, 250 women who visited our hospital during their 35th gestational week, with a self-administered questionnaire. The final total of mother-infant pairs analyzed in this study was 1, 712. We used a multiple logistic regression analysis to analyze the effect of maternal ETS on the incidence of preterm or low birth weight, and a linear regression analysis for the birth weight and gestational age. RESULTS: Higher exposure to ETS (> or =1 hours/day) during pregnancy was more negatively associated with the gestational age and birth weight, than no exposure to ETS (no or less than 1hour). Maternal exposure to ETS was associated with preterm baby (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.7; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.9, 3.3) and low birth weight (AOR 2.3; 95% CI 0.9, 5.5). In addition, we found that maternal ETS may reduce the birth weight by 70g after adjusting for potential confounding factors. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that maternal exposure to ETS during pregnancy may increase the frequency of low birth weights and preterm births.

The Effect of Hyperhomocysteinemia on the Preeclampsia / 대한산부인과학회잡지

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was, at the time of delivery, to determine if an elevated plasma homocysteine level is associated with the development of preeclampsia and to investigate whether 677 (C->T) polymorphism in the 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene, folate status and vitamin B12 levels are risk factors for the development of preeclampsia for Korean pregnant women. METHODS: DNA was extracted from whole blood of 191 healthy pregnant women and 84 preeclampsia patients. All samples were genotyped for the 677 (C->T) polymorphism in MTHFR gene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR-RELP). Serum levels of homocysteine, folate, and vitamin B12 were measured by high preformance liquid chromatography for homocysteine, and radioassay for folate and vitamin B12. RESULTS: Women with severe preeclampsia showed higher concentrations of serum homocysteine (10.5 micro mol/L) than healthy pregnant women (8.46 micro mol/L) and women with mild preeclampsia (8.24 micro mol/L) (p=0.09). For serum folate levels, women with severe (12.7 ng/ml) or mild (13.2 ng/ml) preeclampsia showed increased level compare to healthy pregnant women (9.23 ng/ml) (p=0.0046). Increased homocysteine level (>14 micro mol/L) was associated with preeclampsia (odds ratio=2.86, 95% confidence intervals: 1.27-6.45). CONCLUSION: These results are suggesting that hyperhomocysteinemia in pregnancy could be a risk factor of preeclampsia. Preeclampsia patients with higher serum folate level are speculated to represent a compensatory response to oxidative stress.

Birth Defects Monitoring Systems Utilizing Public and Private Medical Resources in Incheon / 대한산부인과학회잡지

OBJECTIVE: To discover the etiology of birth defects and low birth weight, it is necessary to establish epidemiological birth defects monitoring system in Korea. Our aim was to develop new practical model in Incheon to establish birth defects monitoring system to evaluate the incidence rate and patterns of birth defects in Korea. METHODS: Public health center and private hospitals and clinics participated in this monitoring system. Web based reporting system have been built. Trained nurses actively collected the records obtained from delivery units in the participating hospitals during 2 years (first year: December 1st, 1998-November. 31, 1999; second year: January 1 st, 2000-December 31 th, 2000). RESULTS: Through this monitoring system at 1 st year and 2 nd year, we observed 25 birth defect cases from 2482 births, 28 birth defect cases from 3490 births including live births and stillbirths. The incidence of birth defect per thousand person was 10.1, 8.0 respectively. At 1st year, the highest proportion of birth defects was 28.0% in musculoskeletal system. The proportion of birth defects in gastrointestinal system, cardiovascular system and cleft lip & cleft palate were 20.0%, 12.0%. 12.0%. At 2 nd year, the highest proportion of birth defects was 21.4% in gastrointestinal system The proportion of birth defects in cardiovascular system and musculoskeletal system were 17.9% and 14.3%. CONCLUION: In conclusion, we could build population-based monitoring system for birth defects successfully in Yonsu gu, Incheon. To establish population-based monitoring system for birth defects in Korea, it is necessary to organize the reporters of public health center and private hospitals and clinics, to build an available reporting system, and to extend participating centers for birth defects monitoring systems.

The study on needs assesment for health educational information service program development on internet / 대한의료정보학회지

This study was done to survey on the health educational experience and needs for development of health educational information service program on internet. The respondents of this survey were 302 students in the elementary, middle and high school of Ewha Womans University from 14 June to 30 in 1998. The results were as follows ; 1. They had taken health educational class 86.8% in elementary school. 49.1% in milled school and 77.3% in high school. There was significant difference in the level of school(p<.000). 2. They would like to use health educational information service program on internet, 58.2% of middle school students and 74.8% of high school students. 3. The interested area of health educational information service program on internet were exercise(51.9%), dental health(51.0%) in elementary school, exercise(47.5%), disease management(44.4%) in middle school and sex education(45.3%), exercise(41.9%) in high school. In the future, we should develop health educational information service program on internet that reflect the needs of students and provide them with comprehensive informations.

A Survey for Computerized Health Information System at Occupational Health Care Centers / 대한의료정보학회지

In order to evaluate the status of health information management for occupational health care center, we surveyed the computerized health information system using questionnaires form July 15 to August 31 in 1997. Among the 105 centers, 53 centers answered. The results were as follows; 1. Twenty nine centers(54.7%) had computerized information system. Most of them have operated this system for 5 years ago, and the users were administrators, doctors, nurses, and hygienists. The most of twenty nine centers which had introduced the health information system developed the software programs by themselves(41.4%) or with computer companies(58.6%). The main reasons that the centers introduced the computerized health information system were to do financial work and manage the occupational data; including medical examination, environmental evaluation, and other statistics. The problems in operation of computerized information system were low capacity level of memory, non-transferability to other programs and high cost. They demanded the more advanced level of functional diversity, continuity, and accuracy in data management. 2. Sixty nine percent of the centers which had the computerized health information system and forty six percent of the centers which had not it had plans to extend or introduce the system. They presumed that they would spend the 10-50 million Won to do that. 3. Necessary were the advanced computer program which included the comprehensive occupational health service, transferability to other programs, linkage with other occupational health care centers, worksites and government information system.